Insecurity: Plateau govt fulfils commitment to NIPSS

Plateau State Commissioner for Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development, Mr Joshua Nanven, has stated that the state government has fulfilled its commitment to protect the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, from further attacks.

Recall that the elite institute came under security threat twice this year following attacks on its facilities, which led to the deaths of some security personnel.

Speaking with newsmen in Jos, the commissioner said the state government had provided basic security facilities, such as solar lights around the institute, including the participants’ quarters, to enhance security.

Nanven highlighted that the state governor, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang, during the visit of the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, to the institute after the attacks, had promised to provide more lighting points to illuminate all the nooks and crannies of the institute, as well as strengthen security around the institute and neighbouring communities.

The commissioner listed some of the measures put in place by the Mutfwang administration to curb insecurity to include the provision of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at some flashpoints in the metropolis and the installation of more solar lights around the city centre.

According to him, Plateau is better protected under the Mutfwang administration’s renewed agenda, stressing that the people now have more confidence in the governor to give him a second mandate.

Nanven, who was recently redeployed from the Ministry of Works, allayed fears that his redeployment was punitive, saying it was rather one of the moves by the administration to reposition the machinery of government ahead of the 2027 election and prepare the administration for a second term in office.

“We are not in competition in this government; we are working together as a team, and I can assure you that we’re all winners. What I’ve done and left in the Works Ministry now is plug and play, and my successor will come and continue from where I stopped,” he said.

The commissioner boasted that all elective positions, from the presidency to the House of Assembly, would be won by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the opposition as no threat to Mutfwang’s second-term bid.

“The best hands are being recruited in every team that wants to win. So Plateau State is already focused, and we don’t need to be distracted. We need to be focused and ensure that Plateau State achieves this dream of this apostle of the time, who has transformed the state, and I’m a part of the team that is cardinal in this transformation.”